Google’s September Helpful Content Update has ended: Was your site impacted?

Google launched its helpful content update on August 18, 2022, and has now begun to push out an update to its helpful content system. Let’s talk about the algorithm and then move on to the update!

Ranking algorithms have been introduced and frequently changed as a result of Google’s efforts to prioritize user-centric content at the top of search engine results, ensuring that users only see the most pertinent information.

When one of these algorithm updates—the Google helpful content update—was introduced in late August of last year, it attracted a lot of attention because it emphasized the value of producing informative and approachable content, especially for recently launched websites.

Google’s Helpful Content Update for beginners

Understanding Google’s helpful content system, also referred to as Google’s helpful content update, is essential.

Google, the top search engine, announced the rollout of the Google Helpful Content Update, a machine-learning algorithm update, on August 18, 2022. This update aims to rank content according to its value and relevance.

(Source: 08agency)

On August 25, 2022, the rollout of its update began.

In simplest terms, the goal of this change was to alter search engine results so that Google would “reward” content (websites and webpages) that offers a positive user experience. As you may have guessed, this reward comes in the form of improved website rankings.

Google is targeting content that is lacking in expertise, authority, or trustworthiness (E-A-T). A search engine-first article might perform well in SERPs and receive a lot of search traffic. However, it leaves the user wanting more and compels them to keep clicking because it doesn’t provide an answer to their query.

Google began using a site-wide ranking signal to implement the new update and to categorize websites with unhelpful content. This update covers both current and new websites and doesn’t just refresh now and then. They use a machine-learning model in the automated process.

We’ll continue to improve how it functions, said Danny Sullivan, Google’s spokesperson for search. “Directionally, what SEOs and creators should be thinking about is what we’ve given as guidance.

(Source: 08agency)

What impact did it create on websites?

Google’s new site-wide signal impacted both new and existing websites, which initially targeted English-based search results. This forced them to produce more meaningful and helpful content.

Additionally, websites had to demonstrate their adherence to a “people-first” approach by making sure their published content is helpful to regain search engine visibility and higher rankings. This remained in direct opposition to the “search-engine first content” theology that many websites embraced, which had a resolute objective of adapting to variables that would help them rank at the top of the search engine results pages

With Google’s most recent algorithm update, you must adopt the right content strategy to generate user-friendly content that perfectly caters to the needs of your target audience.  Following restoring their SERP rankings, website owners and content producers needed to exercise caution when posting pointless material.

The question of whether the helpful content update and Google’s Panda update have comparable objectives may be one that many of our readers are now asking. If you’re familiar with Google’s algorithm changes, you know that the Panda update’s main objective was to eliminate duplicate and inferior content. 

Google introduced new algorithms that complement Panda as a result of the helpful content update.

Google September 2023 Helpful Content System Update is all set to conquer

Google started rolling out an update to its helpful content system in September 2023. They have shared that the helpful content update for September 2023 is currently being released with a better classifier. They will update the ranking release history page when the rollout is complete.

Google changed a few details about helpful content, specifically:

• added new advice on hosting third-party content, along with more details on what to do after a helpful content system update (you might not need to do anything, or you might want to self-evaluate your content).

• updated the “How to Create Helpful, Reliable People-First Content” help page with new information about deleting content or changing dates.

• deleted the phrase “written by people” and simply stated, “Helpful content created for people in search results.” An image showing the before and after is provided here.

Helpful content system at a glance

Parameters	Details
Name	Google September 2023 Helpful content update
Launch Date	September 14 at 4:20 pm ET
Rollout	It will take about two weeks to fully roll out
Penalty	Although Google did not mention a penalty, the update does feel like one to the sites affected by it.
Sitewide	The entire site will be impacted by this update because it is a site-wide algorithm.
Impact	Although Google refused to say what proportion of queries or searches were affected by this update, it did promise that it would be “meaningful.” Google added that this will be more noticeable for online entertainment, shopping, and tech-related content.
Refreshes	Google changes, but there is a timeout and validation period, and it can take several months to recover from this update. The scores are updated continuously here.

Decoding the new update (September 2023): Helpful Content System

Google informed us of a helpful content system update for this year in May. With this update, Google claimed that its helpful content system would be able to “more deeply understand content developed from a personal or expert point of view.” Also:

Google stated a few months ago that it was “also improving how we rank results in Search overall, with a greater focus on content with unique expertise and experience”

In particular, Google’s update on helpful content targets “content that seems to have been created primarily for ranking well in search engines rather than to help or inform people.”

Searchers will now be able to more easily find “high-quality content,” according to this algorithm update, Google told us. Google wants to promote and reward better content that is more beneficial to users and written with human beings in mind.

It is frustrating for users when they find unhelpful websites that are highly ranked in search results because they were written with search engine optimization in mind. You might refer to this kind of content as “search engine-first content” or “SEO content.”

These websites are intended for search engines, but Google’s helpful content algorithm seeks to elevate more helpful websites above them.

This is part of what Google called an “ongoing attempt to minimize inferior content and make it easier to find content that feels genuine and useful in search.”

How can I tell whether I have helpful or unhelpful content?

Helpful content offers value and satisfies user curiosity. It is unique and wasn’t assembled from different sources. Unhelpful content simply repeats what has already been said. It lacks a point of view or distinctive angle and leaves blanks for the user to fill in.

You can either make it more useful or remove it if the content on your website doesn’t align with search intent. Either action reduces the likelihood that Google will categorize your website and give your content a lower ranking.

Consider this advice for producing high-quality content that puts people first:

• Observe your lane: Focus on your area of expertise and your clients’ interests. Avoid writing about subjects you don’t understand or that aren’t relevant to your audience.

• Answer search intent: Give the user the information they’re looking for to satisfy their search intent. Unravel their enigma. Don’t use useless clickbait that promises an answer.

• Utilize your knowledge: Create content that enables you to share original research and professional judgment. Think of unique industry insights you or your company can provide to customers.

• Making your content distinctive: Create a clear and concise structure for your content. Fill in the gaps left by other websites. Improve user experience by making the site mobile-friendly.

If you’ve never heard of these concepts before, it’s time to develop a new content strategy. If you already adhere to these guidelines, this Google update shouldn’t cause you too much concern.

What should I do with unhelpful content?

Analyze each piece in-depth before deciding whether to improve it or delete useless information. Update and maintain the content to raise your website’s search rankings if you can improve its value. Remove it if you can’t think of a way to make the content more beneficial so it doesn’t detract from the good content.

Use Google’s questions to determine whether you can make unhelpful content better.

• adding personal experience
• providing missing information
• showcasing a breadth of knowledge
• aligning the article with the main focus of your website

If you are unable to provide value, delete the negative content from your website. A website can be permanently excluded from search results by:

• inserting a 404 error message in its place
• requesting a password to prevent access to the page
• using a no-index tag to prevent Google from indexing the page

Other Helpful Content Update Highlights

As you navigate these changes, here are a few more highlights from Google’s helpful content update:

• According to Google testing, the update enhances search results for content related to technology, arts and entertainment, shopping, and online education.
• This update primarily affects international English searches. As a result, multilingual websites might have an advantage in terms of updating or removing useless content.
• The search engine disapproves of heavy automation. However, it doesn’t follow that you can’t use artificial intelligence (AI) to help with some of your writing.
• You shouldn’t rely on Google to tell you which URLs on your website are useless.
• To favor high-quality content over low-quality content, the search engine is working on this.

Therefore, the time has come to make wise time investments in your Google content marketing campaigns.

Navigating the AI landscape: Will Google penalize or prioritize AI-generated content?

According to its policy on automatically generated content, Google is and has always been against spammy content degrading the user experience. Google is incredibly good at determining whether content is high-quality or not. Depending on the subject you give AI, it can write both beautifully and poorly. As a result, the response is both YES and NO.

Yes

Yes, if you simply copy and paste meaningless AI writing that offers nothing to the user, Google will penalize your content. It’s your responsibility to edit the content before posting it to your blog or website to ensure the tone, facts, and grammar are accurate. Sometimes, the AI simply produces content that doesn’t make sense.

No, Google won’t penalize AI content if you ensure it benefits your users.

Google doesn’t require complex AI software to determine whether or not content is valuable to users. Google keeps track of additional statistics to determine whether an article is valuable, including bounce rates and time spent on the page (among many others). Your blog will likely fall in the SERPS after a few weeks if you plan on hiring an AI writer to produce 100+ articles for you without reading any of them.

Ensure your AI-generated content is fact-checked, grammatically sound, and written in a manner that your readers will find acceptable. It will prevent any upcoming problems. The pen and AI tools both serve as tools for writers to create content. If you use it properly, your efficiency will go up.

Excited to share our website’s progress! Find out how our website performed and the milestones we achieved. Spoiler: it’s been an exciting ride!

Though Google Helpful Content Update has been a roller coaster ride for our websites, here is the list of our websites’ metrics that shocked us. Let’s discuss them!

One of our Pet sites is a dedicated platform passionate about producing fun and endearing content that shows off pets in the most attractive light. Since the update came into play, we saw a significant 2X boom in the website rankings, and the irony is that it is the one with substantial, well-written content. Though the content on the website is edited and proofread by professionals, it is generated via AI tools, and we were shocked to see such growth in a short period.

Regrettably, we’ve observed a recent decline in the rankings of one of our websites. Though the update worked for the Pet website, the same wasn’t the same for. Despite our ongoing efforts to maintain a strong online presence, various factors have contributed to this setback. Our team is working tirelessly to identify and rectify any issues affecting our website’s visibility and search engine optimization to get things back on track.

Despite the recent Google Helpful update, our websites have demonstrated remarkable stability in their rankings. In the wake of Google’s algorithmic changes, many platforms experienced fluctuations, but these websites maintained a strong and consistent presence. Rest assured that we continually refine our strategies and content to adapt to the latest updates and industry standards.

Final thoughts

Over the next two weeks, Google’s helpful content update will gradually roll out. It’s best to hold off on evaluating the impact until the update is finished.

It offers the best strategies for remaining current and at the top of search results. It offers useful information and lets users quickly and easily find what they’re looking for.

The update affects English searches everywhere and will eventually include other languages.

Google will release additional helpful content updates in the future. In its original announcement, Google clarified that it would keep improving its efforts to identify unhelpful content.

Have you noticed any changes? If yes, then comment down below. 

FAQ

Find below frequently asked questions related to the “Helpful Content Update from Google”.